OLD National Bancorp IN Sells 867 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

OLD National Bancorp IN reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,273 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 867 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Aldebaran Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,274,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 9,527 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 164,751 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $22,810,000 after purchasing an additional 39,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,161,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $299,267,000 after purchasing an additional 6,466 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $189.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $157.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The business’s 50-day moving average is $202.69 and its 200-day moving average is $170.38. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.15 and a 1 year high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.